SAN ANTONIO — The latest surge in coronavirus cases thanks to the omicron variant is forcing thousands in San Antonio to get testing. Many waiting for hours in lines or not finding appointments at all.
More testing centers keep popping up including at the Wonderland Mall. It is the brand new testing center at the Wonderland Mall just downstairs from the University Health vaccination center, and they're expecting to test about 2,000 people here today.
Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff told us, "The city stepped up just a week or so ago, and they've got 17 testing sites. So once we started talking about doing the Alamo College, we thought, Well, we ought to do it here too."
As soon as people heard they'd have testing here they began lining up before 8am which is when the first nose was swabbed. Wolff added, "In the first hour, we did 200, we'll be open about 10 hours today until six o'clock tonight."
"We know it's going to be a rough couple of weeks, one to three weeks as we get through this whole Macron surge, so it's vitally important for people to know their status," said Mayor Nirenberg who stressed some counties in Texas are testing at a once unimaginable 50 percent positivity rate.
Nirenberg added, "Knowing your status will help us slow down the spread as we help to relieve some of the pressure on our local hospitals."
Community Labs is running this site along with the ones at Alamo Colleges. The hiccup they say ran into earlier this week was when a shipment of two chemicals used in the testing process got delayed is clearing itself up, so test results should be received within 24 to 48 hours.
Sal Webber, Community Labs CEO told us, "We got into a hole at the end of last week with our FedEx issue and we've been digging out of that hole this whole week. We should have it resolved by this weekend."
And if you haven't been vaccinated, it is never too late.
Nirenberg said, "Get your vaccinations up to date. If you've been fully vaccinated, you're eligible for a booster. Go get vaccinated, and coming down to Wonderland of the Americas is a great way to get vaccinated and make sure that those around you are healthy and tested as well."
Now this is important. Some people may be thinking they can get tested and then immediately walk upstairs for a vaccination but that is not the case.
University Health says people with COVID-19 should wait to be vaccinated for either their primary series or the booster dose until after symptoms have resolved and they've met the criteria for stopping isolation.